Back Porch Thoughts

It's been pretty quiet around here...actually, ominously quiet. No bickering, whining or pool splashing. We haven't had to fill the water level in the pool for several days. Gerald had to remember to put the trashcan out last night for garbage pickup and I haven't had to run but one load full of dishes through the dishwasher. I sort of feel lost; it's eery.

Scooter's acting weird; he misses the kids. He lays around and every once in a while, he'll get up, walk around, whine and then lay back down. He's gonna' gain ten pounds while they're gone. It's really pathetic.

Porter Five, if your reading this, I miss you deeply and love you sooo much. Hope you're having fun with Papa and Memaw...oh yeah, and beehive--:0)

Mom, if you're reading this, I'm thinking of you. Sorry about all the laundry and dishes. Kiss the kids for me and have fun.

I'm sure the kids don't miss home yet. Papa and Memaw had infinite plans to keep busy...swimming, waterpark, museums, Fritz's at Crown Center (read this too). The boys will probably go get rootbeer floats with Papa and then go ride go-karts and play video games. They'll play endless games of backyard baseball and catch fireflies, which are as numerous in Kansas City as they are in short supply here. They'll stop just long enough to watch the fireworks at the end of each game, if the Royals are playing in-town. The girls will, undoubtedly, go shopping with Memaw for a new outfit and some makeup or jewelry. Definitely shoes. Then the girls will go dancing with both their Great-Grandmas and out to eat at a fancy cafe and possibly a movie. Uncle Den will probably stop by with his "big 'ol tow truck" to give Drew and Zac a zip around the block and then wear himself out playing tag. Then to Uncle Mark and Aunt Shellie's new getaway house at The Lake of the Ozarks to swim, tube and fish. Last but not least, our family's ritual is not to be forgotten--bowling. We almost always go bowling when there is "two or more gathered together," to quote the Bible. That's not blasphemy, is it?!? I can taste the Spaghetti Red that Great Grandma Ellen will whip up for them on Thursday night, her specialty. Mmmm.

Enough reminiscing. Have to move on.

I'm enjoying spending time alone w/the love of my life, my soulmate, one of the pieces of my life puzzle, a skip of my heartbeat, a verse in my lifesong, a person the Lord above formed especially for me. Can you tell I'm still head-over-heels? Doesn't hurt that we've been alone together for a few days now. Brings back all those fresh, young-love feelings. Makes you *feel* young again, as well. It's been...refreshing.

*********

Drinking coffee this morning on the already warm (97 degree high today) back porch with Gerald, I scanned the Huntsville Times (you can access it on the left side) and two articles stuck out.

One was about people losing weight and keeping it off. It stated that one of the biggest factors in helping most of the people in the survey keep the weight off: spending less than two hours everday watching TV or on the computer. Nice. We don't watch much TV but there are days, especially in the winter months, that I definitely spend more than two hours on the computer.

I have personally found, and read, that for SAHM's, computer communication is an important "must have" in their social life. For women who spend most of their days couped inside the house doing the same thing over and over and over, day after day, it's not always easy, nor practical, for them to go out with friends for some downtime. I find this especially true for women whose hubbies work in any field "in the ministry". So, are we willing to have a slightly more "cushy" tushy in order to have a little sanity? Maybe. I think a woman who has friends, albeit cyber, is a more content woman; a more content woman is more likely to see herself in a better light and more likely to take better care of herself, including her weight/fitness level. The moral of this paragragh? I'm not sure I totally agree with the study--there are always varying factors to consider within any study and I think this is one factor that should be considered and studied, as well.

The second article that caught my eye:

Free summer movies for kids. Apparently, here in the valley, every Tuesday and Wednesday until school starts again, kids can view select, previously run children's movies for NO CHARGE. This makes me miss my kids even more--cannot wait until they return home. We LOVE movies.

Summer is so much more fleeting than it was when I was a kid. Isn't that weird for a mom to say? I know, I'm weird--I enjoy having my children at home with me. I think I look forward to days off school much more than they do. So, why don't we homeschool? Easy answer. Been there, tried it, no good at it. Plus, my kids are VERY SOCIAL; it would just kill them to not be able to interact with friends everyday. I'm chopped liver in comparison--why would any kid want to learn anything from chopped liver?

My tushy being cushy enough, I'm headed out the door to Kohl's 50% off towel sale. The towels we have, we received at our wedding 15 years ago (tomorrow) and they are finally wearing thin and turning back into thread. It's really hard to dry off with thread. :0)

Have a great day! Hug your kids today, in honor of my void. Thanks.

Information

Write this phone number down and don't lose it.

It's a free information number.

And, no, it's not too good to be true; it works--I used it today.

The only drawback and the "catch" to the "free," is that there is an advertisement you have to listen to before you can get the number you need. The advertisement is only about ten seconds long but if you're in a hurry, maybe paying $43 to get a computer-generated voice and/or a rude telephone company employee to get you a telephone number, is worth the big bucks.

It, of course, works for cell calls, as well. Duh, that was a stupid statement.

800-373-3411

Important Information

DID YOU KNOW THAT RECENT STUDIES INDICATE THAT 7 OUT OF 5 PEOPLE ARE NEARLY ILLITERATE WHEN IT COMES TO MATH?

I PERSONALLY THINK THAT THERE ARE SOME PROBLEMS WITH THAT STATEMENT.

HOW ABOUT YOU?

Nyquil Utopia

So, a week ago Wednesday, a lovely lady I consider to be one of my best friends in all the world, on top of, being the lovely lady that introduced me to all sorts of naughty things in life, like coffee, took her three girls and left our lives once again.

My coffee buddy was gone.

My house was still and quiet.

(My kids were outside).

I felt exhausted...my neck was sore, my joints were sore, I certainly had overdone the visit.

And the coffee. I was visiting the loo in record numbers.

Went to bed early and woke the next morning feeling much the same.

Except I was stuffy, my head hurt, and my stomach felt like two aliens were inside cage fighting for some title.

Yep, I definitely was coming down with something.

I spent almost the whole day in bed, in fearful anticipation of being sick while driving five kids, two hours to Nashville for a non-stop, full-weekend Wedding Event, of which we were a part--no hooky allowed. Told the kids to watch movies, fix PBJ for lunch, don't answer the phone or door, stay inside and not to even think about whining to me about some petty argument. Basically, the "if you're not bleeding, don't bother me" speech. I woke for about two hours in the evening to pickup tents made from blankets, vacuum the floors, do a load of laundry, shoosh the kids off to bed and write a blog while waiting for said laundry. Then I zonked, again.

Friday dawned very bright and extremely early but I felt quite better and uncharacteristically energized, probably brought about by the adrenaline rush my body was experiencing from having to wake the kids for showers and teeth brushin' (no b. o. allowed during travel), load the dishwasher, feed the dog, pack bags, fill the tank with gas, supply the troops with snacks and drinks, remember the items Gerald had forgotten to pack earlier in the week, download and print directions, not forget any of the wedding items and be headed out the door by 10 a.m., bound for Music City, USA.

The trip went smooth, not even one bathroom break was requested. We didn't even have a TV for entertainment this time. The only glitch was taking the wrong exit in route to pickup Gerald downtown. He'd been at a convention in Nashville since Wednesday and it ended at noon so we swung by to pick him up, go eat lunch and then check into our hotel.

We won't discuss the hotel, except to say it was not satisfactory. It wasn't nasty, just not worth what we paid, compared to our Atlanta hotel. Since we were only staying one night and I was totally beat up from my head cold, I let it slide.

So, I was feeling totally beat after the rehearsal and was craving Nyquil and sleep like some kind of confused crackhead. I couldn't find my way to the Nyquil aisle at Walgreens fast enough and, back at the hotel, I sacrificed brushing my teeth so I could get into bed first and let Gerald deal with the kids.

Again, dawn very bright and extremely early. But, alas, it was not early. It was 10 a.m.! We'd missed the "fabulous, free" breakfast buffet and we all had to get ready including ironing stuff, wrap the gift, pack up all our stuff, eat lunch and be at the church ready for pics at 12:30.

We made it with ten minutes to spare, after having had a really good, sit-down Mexican lunch.

Yeah, we're THAT good.

The wedding was my type of wedding...short and to the point, with a really awesome kiss at the end, to seal the whole deal; it was so short, in fact, Zac had only enough time to complain once--something akin to, " Ugh, I thought you said there was going to be cake!?!"

I was still groggy but feeling better--no more aching. Twenty minute drive to the reception, ate some finger food and YUM-O cake, grabbed a coke, bottle of water, five kids and said our goodbyes.

Friday night, we had given the kids a whirlwind tour of bumpin' Downtown Nashville--eaten at one of our favorites--Spaghetti Factory! While waiting for a table, we'd walked past the famous Wildhorse Saloon while they were doin' a boot-scootin' boogie on the bar, left a few of our bucks at a tourist trap, tried to convince the beggars we had NO CASH (we honestly did not), unsuccessfully dodged smokers lined up outside the bars like birds on a wire (which is interesting b/c Nashville is still a smoking town) and stopped to listen to really good country karaoke outside yet another honky-tonk in Downtown Nashville on a Friday night. I think everyone in that town sings. Did I mention the $12 we had to pay to park?!?

All in all, it was another interesting entry into the kids' childhood memory banks. I'm surprised I remember any of it.

Back in Huntsville, the rest of the week was touch-and-go. One day I went and helped paint classrooms at school, the next day, I was down all day totally exhausted. I didn't even have any desire to Blog. Highly unusual. I had no desire to clean or do laundry either. NOT highly unusual :0)

TODAY, I'm finally feeling totally back to myself and I'm blogging.

I fell off the face of planet earth and found some groggy, Nyquil-induced utopia where there are no kids, dark chocolate grows on trees, white bread doesn't make you fat, dogs don't have bad breath and their matted fur eventually turns into money, young hotties massage your feet, offer you really awesome coffee drinks and don't call you, "Mam".

I'm not sure the phrase, "it's good to be back" would be appropriate. I'll just go with, it's real to be back in reality.

See why it took so long for me to blog?

The kids are leaving tomorrow to stay with Papa and Memaw in Kansas City for two whole weeks. Our fifteenth wedding anniversary falls during this time and we're gonna' try to get out of town between Gerald's meetings and painting bedrooms. If we can't, I'll just go visit Walgreens for more Nyquil and another installment of, "Would You Like A Massage With That Drink?"

Did you hear that?...dirty laundry and closets that need purging are calling my name.

Yep, just keepin' it real.

I Like To Move It--Do You?

Interesting and inspiring.

I've always loved to dance.

And watch other people dance.

Never thought I was much good though.

This makes me think differently.

Everybody expresses differently through dance and nobody's dance is right or wrong, better or worse.

Just watch. Then, tell me what you think.

Ramblin'

The kids literally camped out in the family room today while I lay in bed with an aching body and slightly dry, swollen throat. All the blankets and chairs in the house are currently being used. I remember doing that with the metal TV trays that everyone had back in the 70's. Another memory: We used to come home every Friday night after Mom's bowling league was finished and make TV dinners and watch the "Donnie and Marie Show". Wow, that was a long time ago.

Feeling better now--thank goodness. Have a two-hour drive to Nashville tomorrow to attend a wedding. Thank goodness, as well, for PBJ and Ramen Noodles--my kids were able to make a somewhat nutritious meal for themselves for lunch today. Anna made me a sandwich after I picked her up from Volleyball Camp today and boy, does PBJ hit the spot when you're a little under the weather.

I think I might just be worn thin and with hubby out of town last night, I didn't actually go to bed until 4:30 a.m. The dog had me worried because he kept getting up, looking around and sometimes growling when he's normally spread out, dead to the world all night long.

I think since the "alpha male" was gone, he was extra sensitive to the raccoons that like to dig into our trashcan at night. We live in a city with an extremely low crime rate but after going and watching "Mr. Brooks" last week, I was a little on edge. Good movie, btw, I recommend it--lots of twists to the plot and it doesn't hurt that Kevin Costner is in it--woohoo, what a hottie!

Anticipating the wedding this weekend, I ventured out yesterday to possibly buy a dress. I decided to go into Dress Barn. Never had been in there before but I really liked it. Bought a dress off the clearance rack, of course. I was able to buy one TWO SIZES SMALLER! I was Soooo excited because I've really been working at watching my portions and eating small, healthy snacks all day instead of pigging out at dinner after skipping lunch. I have to admit that there have been days when I thought I was starving but I held strong and the feelings subsided. I read somewhere to wait twenty minutes after you eat so your food can digest; if you're still feeling like you're starving after that, eat a little more. That advice has really worked well for me. Swimming everyday has been a definite advantage because I LOVE to swim so it doesn't seem like excercise to me. Don't know what I'll do come winter--maybe I can talk hubby into getting a pass to the Y.

We had a storm blow through tonight, which we desperately needed, so I sat on the back porch and enjoyed the show. I LOVE rain and thunderstorms; inherited that from my Mom. Sitting down now to watch a movie with the Fam.

Extreme Blogover

Changing my whole blog was not nearly as confusing as I thought it would be; it was just time-consuming. Best part about the whole process was that it was totally free. My kind of "Blogover".

Browsing through all the template options out there was an infinite process. I then had to make sure the template I finally chose was formatted in XML for beta; sometimes after copying and pasting the HTML code, it still wouldn't work--definitely frustrating.

I really wanted to go with something Red or Purple but I finally chose to go monochromatic with simple lines because I thought pics would get lost in a busy template.

My favorite features are the audio/video clips on the right side, under "Generation Rising," and our local news on the left under, "Keep Current".

If somebody would find a way to add an audio loop for Blogger, I think I'd feel my blog as totally complete. Something soothing like smooth Jazz or coffee shop Tunes. Anyone know if copying an HTML code for a MySpace audio loop might work on Blogger?

To AdSense or Not to AdSense? Comments, please.

There will probably be no blog the rest of the weekend--I need time away from my blog. It's starting to feel like a job.

Stay and browse for a few. There is plenty to keep busy.

Destination Atlanta

Our Atlanta Vacation Slideshow.

Enjoy!

Random, Random-ness

I was awake at 5 AM this morning. I'm RARELY awake at 5 AM.

I sanitized, brushed down and skimmed the pool, had oatmeal, toast and coffee by myself on the back porch, while watching the birds flit around in the sprinkler that was watering our so-far-pesticide-free Garden.

Today is the end of the pesticide-free garden. Worms are eating some stuff so I'm off to buy Seven, which I've been assured by a local, well-known Cotton and Pumpkin Farmer whose kids attend the same school as our kids, is about the best pest repellent, as well as, the least pesticide-containing pesticide you can put on "crops". Apparently, some of the organic stuff is worse than Seven. I've heard that--weird, huh?

Now, if I could just get hubby to go out and start peein' around the garden to keep the rabbits out of it.

No doubt my boys would do it but they'd probably kill the whole garden as much as they pee in a day.

I've also read to sprinkle used cat litter around the garden. We don't have a cat anymore. Would it be too weird to put an add in the classifieds for used cat litter? :0) Wednesday's adds are free.

Did you know that Starbucks keeps their coffee grounds to give away for your garden? I picked up a bag of grounds that must have weighed 50lbs and we tilled the grounds into our gardening soil. Our veggies are rapidly growing--maybe it's luck, maybe it's the grounds, maybe it's because our land used to be part of a cotton plantation.

Occasionally, we have a cotton plant sprout up from nowhere. They're ugly--look like weeds.

I am HOOKED on Lipton's Raspberry White Tea, which is new--at least to me.

I made our coffee WAAAAY too strong this morning. A good reason to add more sugar, no?

I bought three HUMONGOUS bars of vegetable soap for $21.00 at Target three months ago; three months later, I'm still using the same bar of soap and it's NOT getting any smaller! I was hoping when I bought the soap that my "investment" would pay off. Paying $21 for three bars of soap is too crazy not to be an investment...or, at the least, an experiment.

Did you know, Vegetable soap leaves your skin moisturized so you don't have to use much lotion, which saves you money in the long run.


A fun blog women should read about SBE's.

Gave the dog a bath yesterday and then pried his feet from the edge of the pool so we could throw him in...just to show him how to get out in case he accidentally fell in--we had a dead rabbit in our pool recently because he jumped in at night and couldn't find his way out. I found him...it was GROSS! More chlorine sanitizer, please!

Our dog is so petrified of water, even knowing the way out, he would still panic and drown. We keep him locked out of the pool area when we're not out there but you never know what ornery dogs will do.

We saw two 4-D movies this past holiday weekend and I LOVED them.

I think the kids did too, but who cares?!?

I've been on an Oatmeal-For-Breakfast-For-My-Health-And-Weight "Diet" for about three weeks.

I've been on an Eat-As Many-Prunes-As-I-Can "Marathon," so as to counteract the Oatmeal Diet for about a week.

For the third (or fourth?) week, we've had money leftover at the end of the week--all thanks to our new budget plan. It's been surprisingly easy and we have some savings for the first time in a long time.

We haven't had any ants in our house this year so far.

My Coffee Buddy is coming to visit June 10th and I CAN'T WAIT! Coffee here we come.

My kids are visiting my parents in Kansas City for a week and a half, come June 23. Two days ago, only four school-days into summer vacation, I could not wait for that to happen; however, yesterday was much better.

Time-Out from the pool and the wooden spoon sitting on the outdoor table are amazing little encouragers to good behavior.

Huntsville's jobless rate dropped to 2.1% last month. Be sure to check out the handsome Mattress King. Remember when Elaine dated him?!?

Our backyard neighbors have a sort-of cute Lab puppy they inherited from someone. He had a bad habit of barking NON-STOP whenever there was a single noise in our backyard. There was only one time a day when there was no noise in our yard--2AM or the middle of winter. Two weeks ago, he was sent off for barking/obedience training. It was supposed to last one week. He's still not back. What does that mean?

I'm ready for a new hairstyle. I've had the same one for about four months.

For Mother's Day, I was given a "rare" hosta. The green leaves, or sometimes variegated leaves, have a blue paint stroke on them. Seriously, they look like someone took an artist's paint brush and brushed a stroke of blue onto each leaf.

I also was given a HUGE, decorative, outside thermometer by my hubby. Our Dollar Tree thermometer broke during the freeze in March. We didn't need the thermometer because I bought a new Dollar Tree thermometer but hubby thought the big one would look nicer. It would. It does. We tried to take it back yesterday to buy something more practical, although I'm with Tammi in that gifts should not be practical. But this time, we were going to be practical. Hubby lost receipt and Target's policy is that, without a receipt, they will not refund anything over $40, which is just crazy. $100 sounds more practical, don't you think? Return policies should definitely be practical. Anyway, the thermometer was $60 although, it looks like it was cheaper online. What's that about?

When you come to visit, please be sure to make mention of our lovely, outside thermometer to make my hubby feel better about not keeping track of receipts.

I like gardening and plants but I have NO IDEA what I'm doing. We bought this house last year with an acre yard. It's ALL landscaped, which we loved until we had to start weeding and trimming. It took us three hours, two Saturdays ago to weed JUST AROUND THE POOL AREA!

I have Jackson Vine. I love it. It's hard to find if you want to buy some. It's usually given--a southern-hospitality thing, I suppose. It grows as fast as a weed. I cut ours all the way back into the ground and two days later, it was two or three feet tall. I'm not kidding at all. Want some?

We got a new car, at least new to us, this week--totally unexpected. Another blog about this later. The picture is just a suggestion; actual vehicle may differ in color and price...and does. :0)

Our old car. It's for sale. If you're interested, please let me know otherwise, we may be eating PBJ for awhile. It does NOT look like the picture; we have five kids for goodness sake. It comes equipped with stains on the carpet, handlebar marks down the sides, no rearview mirror--it recently fell off but we still have it! It smells not so bad and the AC and heat only blow on high. We've replaced almost every major thing on it in the last two years, except for the motor...knock on wood. Brand new TV and DVD player included and possibly a kid or two.

If you're a Mom (or not) AND a blogger (or lurker), check this out.

And this.

Random Friday. I think I like.

Although, it ended up being much longer and much more work than I intended it to be.

So many links, so little time.

Comments are solicited, please.

Have a GREAT weekend!